Legislative term limits are a constraint on democracy

Sunday

Jul 29, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2012 at 11:47 AM

A good question deserves what will aim to be a good answer. A reader recently said he usually finds the column "informative and thought-provoking," but, "I don't understand .?.?. your constant railing against term limits in the Ohio Legislature."

A good question deserves what will aim to be a good answer. A reader recently said he usually finds the column “informative and thought-provoking,” but, “I don't understand .?.?. your constant railing against term limits in the Ohio Legislature.”

Reason No. 1: Ohio had term limits. They were called “elections.” If your state legislator did a crummy job, you could fire him or her at the ballot box.

Reason No. 2: If your legislator did a good job — some did, and do — you could re-up him or her. But term limits retire House members and senators after eight years, saints and scoundrels alike. If that doesn’t limit an Ohioan’s right to vote, then North Korea is a democracy.

Reason No. 3: By squeezing the experience a legislator has in Ohio’s House or Senate, term limits make lobbyists (and legislative employees, however outstanding most are) the “deciders” in Columbus.

They, not rookie legislators, know where the bodies are buried. They know Ohio’s budget has nooks and crannies like Thomas’ English muffins – nooks and crannies where bureaucrats can hide spending. But lobbyists and legislative staff don’t answer to taxpayers.

Reason No. 4: Term limits strengthen Ohio’s executive branch and weaken the legislative branch. Imagine: You’re a term-limited Ohio legislator. You’re not in a position to leap-frog from one General Assembly chamber to the other (I’ll get to that later). You don’t have, say, a law practice or insurance agency back home. For some lame-ducks, that means the ideal post-legislature option is an appointment bestowed by the governor, no matter who he or she is.

But if the difference between (maybe) landing a state job and (maybe) going back home jobless is whether you’ve pleased or irked a governor, that crimps a legislator’s independence, however unconsciously. He or she’s not going to rock the boat.

Reason No. 5: Term-limits defenders offer a “leap-frog” argument. It’s bunk, but here it is: A state representative may be elected to four consecutive two-year terms — eight consecutive years. Then he or she must take a four-year break before returning to the House. A state senator may be elected to two consecutive four-year terms — also eight consecutive years. Then he or she must take a four-year break before returning to the Senate.

But term-limited representatives can, without waiting four years, go directly to the Senate. And a term-limited senator, without waiting four years, can go directly to the House. The fans of term limits claim that demonstrates that term limits aren’t really term limits, so no worries. That’s a heck of a defense: Term limits are OK because, hey, they’re not really term limits?

The Ohio House is supposed to be a check on the state Senate, and the Senate a check on the House. But if you’re a House member wanting a Senate seat, would you irk your party’s Senate caucus? Same goes for senators wanting to backflip to the House. (Caucuses fill midterm vacancies and fund campaigns.)

Term limits are elitist. They imply voters are too stupid or lazy to actually judge candidates. That is, Democrats in, say, Greater Cleveland would elect Daffy Duck to the General Assembly if he ran as a Democrat. And Republicans in, say, Butler and Warren counties would elect Elmer Fudd if he ran as a Republican.

Competitive districts would trump that. So could a ballotthat lists legislative candidates without party labels, as the state does with judicial candidates, (though that can promote “name game” elections, like those for Cuyahoga County judgeships).

No way, though, can anybody improve democracy in Ohio by limiting it. But that’s exactly what legislative term limits do.

Thomas Suddes is a former legislative reporter with The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and writes from Ohio University.

tsuddes@gmail.com

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.